Shabbat Gathering: Our month of rest and re-creation.

Brian D. Johnson

24 Oct 2025 • 4 min read

Gud Shabbos Khaveyrim, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

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Here we go.

We just finished the month of Tishrei and need to catch our breath. Tishrei is packed with Holy Days. From Rosh Hashanah to Simcha Torah, every week brought with it another Holy Day, or two or three. Now, this week, we enter Cheshvan, a month designated for rest and re-creation, a month the rabbis of the Talmud called “bitter” due to the complete absence of Holy Days.

Even beyond the frantic pace of the of Holy Days just this past month, it seems like it’s been a long year especially for people who participate in progressive politics and community building or even just try to pay attention to what’s going on in the country and the world. I don’t know about you but I feel emotionally drained from the roller coaster we’ve been on this past year. Inspiration and disappointment have become entwined.

It’s time for a break and that’s what Cheshvan is all about. In our organizing, we know it’s important to not jump from action to action, campaign to campaign, without time for reflection and learning in between. Cheshvan gives us that time.

In our go-go-go culture some of us, including me, might feel like we’re letting down our community when we take time off for rest and restoration. When we step back from the barricades, some of us, including me, feel like we’re letting down our comrades. Maybe. Maybe one more pair of hands on the wheel of change might turn it in the right direction, however, some of us, including me, have little to no strength left for the work. We’re actually letting down our friends when we show up too mentally and even physically exhausted to perform the work.

It’s time to re-create and then prepare for the next action before we jump back into one battle after another.

Just a few days back, there was a newspaper story about a Tibetan Buddhist practice of sitting in a completely dark room for days, weeks, months. The intrepid reporter tried it for a weekend and recounted his experience. It was extreme and included wild hallucinations. So, I don’t think I’ll try that right now and am grateful there isn’t a comparable Jewish practice. There are other ways I can re-create. There’s music to listen to, books to read, old Star Trek episodes to re-watch… the things I do when I’m re-creating.

So, let’s catch our breath, re-center ourselves and build up our resources for the next time we’re needed.

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Mit vareme grusn,
(With warm regards,)

All my love,
brian.

PS

Hi. I've been helping out with the organization of the syngagogue's mini - retreat, Shabbat B'Yachad, on November 8. It's going to be a super event and you ought to consider coming.

DuoYid

-30-

Here we go.

PS

DuoYid

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